MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill., June 16, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) is pleased to announce that it will provide state prescription monitoring programs (PMPs) with access to NABP's PMP InterConnect® at no cost so states can focus their resources and federal grants to support PMP operations.

Currently, 42 states have executed memorandums of understanding to be part of PMP InterConnect, 33 PMPs are active, and 40 states are expected to be active by the end of 2016.PMPs supply health care providers and appropriate law enforcement agencies with access to a record of patients' controlled substance medication histories. PMP InterConnect enhances the benefits of state PMPs by allowing authorized users in the United States to access PMP data from across state lines, for a more complete patient record.

"NABP PMP InterConnect is the only national network of state-based PMPs. It furthers the mission of the boards of pharmacy and NABP, as well as other state agencies, to protect public health by assisting health care providers in identifying doctor shopping and diversion of controlled substances, as well as confirming which patients are legitimately receiving such prescriptions," notes NABP President Hal Wand, MBA, RPh.

The commitment by NABP to fully support PMP InterConnect will remove any resource roadblocks that states face to identifying patients with prescription drug abuse and misuse problems, especially if those patients are crossing state lines to obtain drugs. Participating state PMPs that use this highly secure communications exchange platform (which does not store data) have access to information that can be an effective means of combating drug diversion and drug abuse nationwide.

Launched in 2011, PMP InterConnect is currently processing more than 2.7 million requests and 4.5 million responses per month for consolidated multistate PMP reports. For more information about PMP InterConnect, visit the Programs section of the NABP website.

NABP is the independent, international, and impartial Association that assists its state member boards and jurisdictions for the purpose of protecting the public health.